The Sniper's Game
by MirtisHalal
Summary: Creds to RedOmega for the idea and story. Chiba was the best shot in E-Class, and the government has another task (besides assassinating the yellow octopus) for him. And so, he finds himself in GGO, with a digital friend and a mystery to solve. Set after the Island Arc (Assassination Classroom) and during SAO II.
1. intro

_intro_

* * *

It's another normal day in the Class 3-E or the "End Class". Students are trying to assassinate the yellow octopus creature who has promised to destroy Earth within a year. Even the teachers here aren't ordinary teachers, in fact, they're government agents sent to guide the students in assassination.

This world is _much_ more exciting than the dull, ordinary lives of people before the year 2010 A.D. Not only did the first _non_ -military world crisis hasten an era of cooperation and virtual connection, but the Earth and its species are more colorful—odd hair colors becoming the norm. Thus it is that in one class, there can be many people with quite _vibrant_ hair colors, though the majority are, and will ever be, the browns, blacks, and blonds of the world.

Governments are more proactive due to the first _non_ -military world crisis—intelligence agencies (like the CIA and Japan's Ground Defense Force) have never been busier and global trade skyrockets. New or revamped agencies, such as the Telecommunications Bureau, serve to monitor laws, both national and international, in the virtual world, which is becoming larger and larger…

The first AI system was invented in response to the monster that currently resides in Kunugigaoka, and turned out to be friendly! (Though no one seems to know how or why a military asset turned into a fun-loving, _life_ -loving girl of middle school age.) Technology is advancing at a truly prodigious rate, with the first world-wide virtual net and the first AI (no matter that it is a government secret at this point) and our characters live in an era of change and innovation.

(Oh. And the darker, more annihilation-y threats, of course…)

* * *

 **A/N:** Hellos my lovelies… it has been more than a year since I started this project, which was honestly written as my (outraged) response to the slow updates and abandoned stories on this website (ah, the hypocritical idiot I have become…) and here is some context to my story. I promise that the rest of the work will not read like a textbook.

This idea is originally taken from RedOmega's crossover, and it is made with their wondrous blessing. I was ecstatic when they told me that I could use their idea, so there will be some overlap, especially at the beginning.

I am going through and updating this story to meet my grammar and plot standards (and unfortunately, it looks like I have a bit of work ahead of me) but I promise to _try_ not to leave this story for more that a year again. If I do, feel free to review with angry, incredulous comments. I will probably get them through email.

So here is the beginning… I hope you enjoy.


	2. quiet

_quiet_

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** This is a fanfiction. Draw your conclusions people. Credit goes to RedOmega for the crossover Idea and for their permission to write :) The premise you ask? Ah. That one's easy. "What if the government had actually recruited a skilled gunman to infiltrate Gun Gale Online? And so something insignificant changes… well, you'll see.

 **By the way…**

 _Thoughts_

 _"Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind."_

"Normal talking"

" **CLASS REACTION!"**

* * *

"Nagisa! Since school ended early today, do you wanna hang out?" Kayano asked cheerfully.

"Sure. There's no homework anyway." The androgynous boy packed his backpack.

The sun was still shining rather too brightly, as if it were trying too hard, and subsequently, the room looked like a cheerful type animation…. Class 3-E's run down wooden building almost had a rustic air to it, instead of the usual " _oh my god, it's all gonna collapse on me!"_ feel. The mosquitos were thankfully all avoiding the place, and the woods actually seemed nice for once and not full of rather creepy things.

(Thus it came to be that that day was almost perfect in complexion. The world pulling out all the stops, feeding into its rather large vanity.)

We say _almost_ perfect because of the contented feel being ruined by Okajima reading a porn magazine hidden under his desk while having a nosebleed. Or rather, the contented atmosphere was corrupted by _too_ much gleeful staring.

Suddenly the magazine disappeared.

"Agh!?"

"Okajima-kun, I'm confiscating this disgusting magazine!" Korosensei then appeared at the front desk while holding the porn magazine, over-dramatic as ever. He was acting like a conquering hero, holding out the porn mag like a rather gruesome trophy…

The class sweatdropped.

" **SAYS THE ONE WHO READS SAID DISGUSTING MAGAZINES EVERYDAY!"**

But it was the end of the day, and the incident was left at chastisement of their hypocritical teacher. The students began getting ready to get out of school. It was then that Chiba Ryuunosuke left his seat and quietly left the classroom alone.

He was noticed, of course. In a small class like theirs, with a _secret_ like theirs, everybody knew everybody. And what with the extra observation lessons that Karasuma-sensei had thrown in…

"Hey, Nagisa. You ever noticed that Chiba-kun barely talks to anyone and is usually quiet?" Maehara asked.

"Yeah… he's hardly spoken at all to me and doesn't talk in class. I think it's just his personality."

Maehara moved closed to Nagisa's seat and the front of the room, swinging the backpack onto his back. He opened his mouth to say something but was foiled when a new voice butted into the conversation.

"Why are you suddenly talking about Chiba-kun?" Kayano said, looking interested.

"I just found out he lives alone!" said Maehara.

"Really?" Nakamura then suddenly appeared right in front of them. "How'd you know that?"

"Whoa! When did you..."

Kayano stumbled backwards a bit before regaining her balance. Nakamura simply grinned at Kayano's reaction to her unsettling habit of just popping up. Mahara continued as if nothing had been said.

"I asked him yesterday when we were planning another assassination attempt on Korosensei."

"I wonder what he's doing later..." Nagisa mused.

The mechanical box screen lit up and Ritsu appeared unnoticed.

 _Giggle_

*I*I*

Chiba Ryunosuke got into bed and put on a visor that connected to the computer. He closed his eyes...

A computerised voice. "Welcome to the GGO, commonly known as Gun Gale Online."

Chiba opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings, seeing a place which he has never been before. The people in his surroundings were mostly men: the majority of them had muscular builds and _everyone_ was holding guns. He turned around and saw the reflective glass of a skyscraper and his avatar. He let out a breath in relief: the avatar looked exactly like he did.

Ritsu had told him that she had hacked into the system to give him his exact form, as well as increasing his stats to about the level, or a bit higher, to make his virtual body as close to real life as possible and easy to get used to, but she had also warned him that it might not be completely accurate.

 _So this is GGO..._

* * *

 **A/N:** Oh Chiba… why do you confuse your classmates so?


	3. recruitment

_recruitment_

* * *

-Flashback-

The sun was setting in a brilliant flash of gold as the permanently crescent moon began to rise. Chiba was sitting on a park bench, a favorite place of his, feeling rather glad to be away from the hectic world of the assassination classroom.

And then that peace was shattered. (He was rather disappointed.)

"Might you be Chiba Ryunosuke?"

Chiba opened his eyes (though no one could tell, due his dark hair obscuring his eyes) and saw a man in front of him wearing glasses and a suit.

"Forgive me for disturbing you. My name is Kikuoka Seijirou. I'm from the government agency that deals with the unexpected, such as the the SAO incident and the yellow monster you're planning to assassinate now."

Chiba just _looked_ at him.

(Honestly, who just comes up to a person and reveals top-secret information?!)

Kikuoka was wondering how he could feel so uncomfortable when he couldn't even see the boy's eyes. The government official bravely continued.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I am here. I've heard that you're the best marksman in your class, and I have a proposition to make." Kikuoka said as he adjusted his glasses.

Chiba nodded once and got up. Kikuoka took Chiba to a cafe and treated him with increasingly expensive sweets that never ended up being eaten.

It was rather uncomfortable for the government official.

"Do you remember the SAO incident a few years back?" Kikuoka asked rather abruptly, shattering the silence into a million irreparable bits.

Chiba nodded.

"More than 10,000 players got trapped for two years, and many of them died inside the game. And though many of them died as a result of the game and the extreme difficulty of it, some were killed by other players, on purpose."

Chiba let out a breath. (Hadn't he just nodded?)

"And we believe that it is happening again."

Chiba froze. _What?_

 _That horror, that_ fear _and_ paranoia _as people tried to figure out how to stop the massacre… that horror, repeated?!_

"Several days ago, one of the top players in a game called Gun Gale Online was giving an interview, when he suddenly disconnected. Exactly at the same time, an individual name 'Death Gun' was heard ranting about justice in a different part of the game, and shot the TV, just a millisecond before the player in the interview disconnected. The player was later found dead in his own house."

Kikuoka paused. He hated asking this to a boy, albeit one who was part of the infamous assassination classroom, but it had to be done. There was no better candidate (because for all the government's sudden increased budget for the Telecommunications Bureau, many of those in the department didn't _actually_ play games. In fact, not many government officials had time for such investment intensive games like SAO and GGO… [which was also why the world government kept running through the SAO crisis.] So the government was forced to look outside its own bounds, and who better to ask than one who was already involved in _one_ state secret?)

"The government wants you to… go into GGO and find the killer."

Silence. Complete and utter silence.

The government official continued awkwardly, knowing the responsibility he was placing on the student across from him, "GGO is a gun game and is a specialized killing series. The government thought that since you happen to be an assassin and he best shot in your class that you would be the ideal candidate."

"Why not a government official?"

Chiba still hadn't move towards the sweets.

"Most of my men don't have experience with video games, and we needed someone versatile enough to blend in." And to be completely honest, Kikuoka thought, Chiba was simply the best shot of even the government officials, without resorting to professional hitmen. "You were the best option… you can always decline. The government will not force you to-"

"I accept."

Kikuoka stared, he hadn't expected him to—

"But on a few conditions: while I dive, you must ensure my safety, Korosensei must be notified by you if anything happens or if I am absent, and the government must provide me with the supplies, including whatever money I will need to get into the game."

Kikuoka thought for a moment. It all seemed quite reasonable and well-thought out. But…

"Wait, you want ME to go to your insane homeroom teacher if you're absent?!"


	4. ranks and the girl

_ranks and the girl_

* * *

Chiba was sent a AmuSphere the next day along with a full briefing on Death Gun and who he had targeted. He then sent the info to Ritsu. She would have found out anyway if he hadn't told her, and he wanted a better perspective on the case.

They poured over the information; Ritsu taking over his computer, her avatar opening pages and manipulating the screen, and Chiba at his desk facing her.

"Here, look at this…"

Chiba looked. Ritsu had pulled up a webpage—the design was futuristic, black on neon highlights, and at the top were the words " _Gun Gale Online."_ In the middle of the page were pictures of avatars and information about them.

"Those are the three victims aren't they?"

Ritsu rolled her digital eyes.

"Yes, but~"

"They're all ranked…"

"It's the GGO leaderboard for the Bullet of Bullets tournament."

Chiba's unseen eyes widened fractionally.

"He's going down the list!"

"Yep. Now we know the next target, you'll need to stick by her. You need to be careful too, he's targeting the players who live alone."

 _Sinon_ , he memorized the face and the name. It was rather odd to find a female player in such a game as GGO, but it would make her memorable and easy to spot, and for that he was grateful.

Ritsu looked thoughtful.

"You know, there's always the chance she's the killer…"

 _-End Flashback-_

 _Well, whoever this "Sinon" is, least I can hone my skills in assassination… maybe it'll help me against Korosensei._

Chiba walked around the place for awhile but saw nothing but guys holding guns. He muttered under his breath, "Ritsu, are you connected yet?"

Silence. Ah, so she hadn't hacked her way in yet. Chiba was slightly regretting that he hadn't completely read the instruction manual. He was lost.

Before the dive, he had prepared by listening to the audio and visual of the target. This was going to be different than assassinating Korosensei—he didn't know the murderer's true identity nor his powers. Furthermore, he could sense the bloodlust in the video of Death Gun; it was almost on par with Nagisa or Karma, except more menacing, as if he really did want to completely annihilate the players.

He turned a corner and was going to ask someone (preferably someone who _didn't_ loom over him) for directions, when he glimpsed a spot of color out of the corner of his eyes.

Sky blue swaying hair and indigo eyes.

 _Sinon! She's the only girl I've seen today._

Chiba half-turned and ran toward her. _Remember, she could be the next victim… or the killer—at any rate, I need to stick close to her._

"Excuse me."

The girl turned around and a look of annoyance flashed across her face.

"What?" She examined him, and saw that he unarmed. "Is this your first time playing the game?"

"Yes. I'm sort of lost," he answered "Is there a place where I can get weapons?"

She looked at him sharply, and Chiba realized that, what with the male to female ratio, she probably thought that he was trying to pick her up.

"I'm not trying to hit on you," Chiba said. "I had a friend who introduced me to this game and set me up, but she had things she had to attend to." _Namely hacking into this using my computer as her base… but Sinon doesn't need to know that._

"Fine. I'll show you around."

He nodded and began following the target.


	5. a new challenge

**This is a fanfiction... yes, yes, I know, huge surprise... but I do not own any of these characters or the settings, they belong to the creators of Assassination Classroom and Sword Art Online. They are the real geniuses, I'm here as a poor shadow...imitator. Credit to RedOmega for letting me use their idea.**

 **By the way...**

 _Thoughts_

" _Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind._ "

"Normal talking"

 **CLASS REACTION!**

 *****ψψψ*****

"BoB? Didn't you just started today?" Sinon asked.

Chiba nodded.

"Your stats might not be good enough for you to participate in that tournament."

"My account was transferred."

"Oh. What brings you to a game that's full of dust and stinks of oil?" she asked seriously.

"It was mostly my friend's idea," he answered. "I had an experience where I lost confidence in myself involving a gun." He had made the cover story with Ritsu. It was mostly true, he _and_ Hayami had lost confidence after failing to hit Korosensei. He wanted to get better, so that next time he wouldn't miss. "I suppose you could say I wanted to get stronger."

Sinon stopped.

Chiba looked back at her, a question in his stance. Sinon shook her head and walked on.

"So you're starting with BoB? You've got guts. I'll take you to a place where you can find a wide selection of weapons. You'd get better bargains at specialized shops, but since you're a beginner… We're almost there, anyway." She said as she continued walking.

She took him to a huge market where there even more gunners than outside.

Chiba stopped and his unseen eyes widened. There were more guns there than he had ever seen in his life.

"GGO has two major weapon types: energy and physical types, or optical and live ammo, depending on what you like to call them."

She then explained about the weapons, and Chiba began to think about the kind of gun he usually used. Sniper rifle, then a pistol for close range, and maybe a knife. He _had_ been drilling with Karasuma-sensei recently, as even a sniper has to fight sometimes…

"What kind of stats do you have?"

"Accuracy. Followed by strength and speed," he answered. Ritsu had given him abilities just above the ones he had in real life. When he had asked why she hadn't given him amazing abilities, she told him he'd have a hard time trying to control them and that he wasn't used to virtual reality anyway.

"I see. Then you need a long-distance sniping gun and a handgun sub-weapon," she said.

 _…it's kind of creepy how she just immediately said what I was thinking. And she doesn't even know me._

"Wait. You just started, right? … so how much money do you have?"

Chiba looked into his menu "1000 credits."

"That's the starting amount, isn't it? With that money, you can't buy more than a small ray gun."

"Is there anywhere one can earn a lot of money?"

"I can't recommend it, but there are casinos and gambling games. There's one over there." She said as they passed a game called the "Untouchable!". The area was laid out on metal tiles and surrounded by a wooden waist-high fence. It was roughly 3 meters wide and 20 meters long.

"(In english) **Hey, check it! Come on!** " The NPC (Non-Playable Character) cowboy automatically said.

Chiba had heard from Ritsu that GGO was made in America. He cocked his head. Sinon hurried to explain.

"You enter from that gate, and dodge the NPC gunman's bullets. The goal is to make it as far as you can. And if you tag the gunman, you get all the money other players have ever put in."

"All?"

She took a glance at the price and saw the amount "About 300,000 credits, huh?"

" _Quite a lot, isn't it_?" Ritsu said.

Chiba jumped.

" _Don't speak, Sinon can't hear me. I would have made myself an avatar, but I would have had to replicate the AmuSphere, and their security is really hard to fool_."

"It's impossible." she said.

Chiba had almost forgotten she was there.

"Once you pass the eight-meter line, he starts doing these cheap speed draws. By the time you see the prediction lines, it's too late," she explained.

 _Prediction lines?_

"They're like warnings of bullet paths. They appear before the shot, outlining in red where the bullet will go."

"Watch... Someone's about to add to the pool," she said and we both saw a person wearing a blue camo outfit being encouraged by his friends.

"All right!" The guy with the blue camo outfit touched the panel and the "Paid" bar turned red.

 **-WELCOME NEW CHALLENGER!-**

" **I'm gonna blast you from here to the Moon** ," the NPC said as he got his gun ready.

A small crowd came to watch the game.

"Okay, I'm gonna clear this today."

"We're counting on you!" his friend told him.

"Leave it to me."

 **3, 2, 1... GO!**

The gate opened and the challenger immediately ran inside. Suddenly, he stopped and made a weird pose.

 _What's he doing?_

The NPC fired and missed because of the pose.

 _Oh, I see. Instead of running forward, he stops to avoid the bullets. Foolish, if this were real life, he'd be dead._

" _He's firing about three shots every seven seconds_ ," Ritsu whispered.

"It's the defensive assist system: the bullet line. Except for a sniper's first shot, a targeted player will see a display showing the path a bullet will take," Sinon explained.

The NPC fired again and the challenger, seeing the red bullet lines, was able to dodge it.

"I'll kill you!" The NPC kept on firing as the guy dodged it.

The challenger then reached the purple line.

"You loser!" The NPC fired three bullets again, but quicker and, though the challenger was able to dodge the first two, he lost his balance at the third and was hit.

 **-GAME OVER-**

The prize reached 302,000.


	6. shock

**This is a fanfiction... yes, yes, I know, huge surprise... but I do not own any of these characters or the settings, they belong to the creators of Assassination Classroom and Sword Art Online. They are the real geniuses, I'm here as a poor shadow...imitator. Credit to RedOmega for letting me use their idea.**

 **By the way...**

 _Thoughts_

" _Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind._ "

"Normal talking"

 **CLASS REACTION!**

 *****ψψψ*****

"I knew it wouldn't work." A guy from the crowd said.

"See? You can't move far to the left or right, so you have to run right down the middle. That area's the limit." Sinon again.

Chiba didn't answer, doing calculations in his head.

" _The speed of the bullets after the purple line is three bullets per ten point eight seconds including reload time, and I bet it probably gets faster. Think you can do it?_ "

 _He never fires the same place in a row. You can see the angle at which his gun is pointing, and he can only move his arm so far once he starts firing faster…_

After performing some spacial calculations (almost identical to the extra problems Korosensei had given him to increase his skill with Triangulation and sniping), he stepped up to the platform.

"W-wait… wait a second… " Sinon said, trying to stop him.

Chiba touched the panel and the "Paid" bar turned red.

"Heh. A beginner's gonna try?" The previous challenger said, looking down on him...

with good reason, Chiba was shorter than most players there, being the same size as Sinon. But in this game, a smaller player would have the advantage.

"The next loser's just some runt, huh?" Some guy from the small crowd said.

"While we're here, why not take a look." This was the person right beside him.

 _Well, this is familiar. Seems E-Class discrimination isn't limited to Kunugigaoka._

Chiba grinned.

 **-WELCOME NEW CHALLENGER!-**

 **3, 2, 1... GO!**

Chiba immediately ran towards the NPC.

" **I'll kill you!** " The NPC started firing. He saw the red bullet lines, one trained directly at his head. Without breaking stride, he swiftly ducked and moved to the left. Then weaving left and right, he continued.

 _This isn't that much different from Karasuma's obstacle courses. Easier actually… the terrain is level._

" **You loser!** " The NPC fired and he evaded.

The crowd seemed surprised that Chiba kept running without stopping for the bullets. He reached the purple line.

"He's already made it ten meters?" The guy with the blue outfit said in disbelief.

" **Die!** "

Chiba _sped up._

" **Go to hell!** "

Chiba slid, then quickly twisted to the side then flipped up before swerving to the right.

The NPC shot faster and faster, but Chiba always seemed to be at the opposite side of where the bullets ended up.

When he was 0.6 meters away, he abandoned all evasive maneuvers and lunged, twisting in midair, and his fingers grazed the NPC's wrist.

" **No!** " The NPC fell to his knees, a chaotic fanfare sounding.

" _Nice!_ " Ritsu congratulated.

The brick wall exploded as the goods piled out and then disappeared when they touched Chiba. He brushed himself off (an involuntary reflex, as there hadn't been any dust on his avatar). The crowd watched in disbelief as the small player opened his menu to accept the credits.

 _So, Karasuma's extra lessons were effective…_

As Chiba walk back toward Sinon, the game reset.

"What was that? Who is he?" The crowd was in shock.

"... what kind of reflexes do you have? At the end, in front of it… you dodged bullets fewer than two meters away! There's hardly any time between prediction lines and actual shots!" Sinon was also in shock and blabbering.

"I calculated the pattern of the bullets."

"What?"

"The trajectory of the bullet is dependent on his arm and body movement. During every shot, he shifted his body just enough to show me where his next bullet was going to hit. Then, before the game started, I used Triangulation to predict the path of the bullet, depending of the body position. But I knew I couldn't keep it up for long, which is why I had to speed up at the 10 meter mark," Chiba said in an even tone.

Karasuma had included reading enemy movements in the gym class after the island incident.

Sinon looked dazed after the explanation.


	7. equipment

**This is a fanfiction... yes, yes, I know, huge surprise... but I do not own any of these characters or the settings, they belong to the creators of Assassination Classroom and Sword Art Online. They are the real geniuses, I'm here as a poor shadow...imitator. Credit to RedOmega for letting me use their idea.**

 **By the way...  
** _Thoughts_  
" _Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind."  
_ "Normal talking" **  
CLASS REACTION!**

***ψψψ***

Chiba walked through the market with a shocked Sinon in tow. He silently evaluated the guns. He was looking for a good sniper gun. That was his first priority, after all.

"Sinon?"

She shook her head, as if to clear it.

"Yeah?"

"You mentioned that there were specialized shops with better deals, so is there one for snipers?"

"Yeah, I'll take you there."

They walked through the streets, down several alleyways, and arrived at a smaller shop. Inside, the walls were lined with a variety of sniper guns.

Chiba smiled.

***ψψψ***

After looking for a long time, he eventually decided on the Accuracy International AWM. The choice was partially sentimental; the gun had been the one the professional assassin on the class trip had tried to use on Korosensei. When he and Hayami had met the sniper later (after Korosensei had introduced himself, and the shock of it had worn off), the professional had let them fire his gun, and then had praised them on their accuracy and speed.

The Accuracy International AWM was one of the most dangerous sniper guns in the world.

It cost around 100,000 credits, but was worth it.

After that he bought a handgun: the Colt M1911A1, the same type that everyone in the assassination classroom used. Around 35,000 credits.

Chiba paid for them both and a robotic NPC came and gaven them to him.

He put the AWM on his back and strapped the Colt handgun to his belt.

And when that was over, he asked Sinon if there were any knives in GGO.

"There might be," she said, snapping out of her daze. "You did said that this is your first time playing this kind of game, right?"  
He nodded.  
"What game did you transfer from?"  
" _A fantasy type,"_ suggested Ritsu.

Chiba rolled his eyes, not that anyone knew (exempting Ritsu), but he didn't have a better story. "A fantasy type."

" _I was an archer."_ Ritsu giggled.

"...I was an archer."

"Oh. Well, if you're entering the BoB qualifiers, I'll have a chance to see you in action." She crossed her arms.

They began to walk to another store.

"You'll also need protective gear and bullets."

***ψψψ***

"So, apparently, GGO _doesn't_ have knives."

"Pity." Chiba frowned a bit. He would have liked to use hand to hand combat for close quarters.

"Well, at least we got the bullets and the armor. Honestly, the only thing you thought of to buy was a gun?"

They were walking out of the market when Sinon turned to him suddenly.

"Have you ever fired a gun before?"

"My sister's in the military, and I've shot before."

"Still, you need to know how to work a gun in GGO…"

Sinon led them to a shooting range. They put on the sound reducing earmuffs and the goggles.

"You can try any gun you buy at the store. So take out your handgun, it'll be easier to demonstrate."

"Do you know how to fire it?" she asked.

Chiba nodded. He held his handgun in his usual stance as Karasuma had taught them.

"The way you hold your gun… did someone teach you?"

"My sister. She's in the military."

 _Not really. I mean, she IS in the military, but Karasuma is the one who taught me_

As Chiba raised his gun and aimed, a blue circle appeared in his field of vision. It fluctuated in size.

"You should see a circle display. That's the offensive assist system, the bullet circle. Bullets hit randomly somewhere in that circle. The circle gets smaller the slower your heartbeat and the closer you are to the target."

Chiba took a deep breath to calm himself and fired. When Sinon pushed a button to bring the target closer, they saw that he had hit the target dead center.  
"Looks like you DO have high accuracy. I don't know how you can see with your hair covering your eyes like that." She said.

Chiba almost smiled. _Actually, that's the reason that I have high accuracy._

Chiba shot a few more times, to get the feel for it, and then they walked outside.

"Thank you." Chiba bowed.

"Don't mention it. Honestly, one of the reasons I helped you is that you're going to enter the BoB, despite being a beginner."

" _Talking about GGO… Chiba, you haven't signed in yet… and it's 15:50."_  
"Registration?"

Sinon looked at the clock. Her eyes widened.

"We only have ten minutes!" she cursed.

They started sprinting.

"Shit! It's three kilometers away… Entering… five minutes… need to get there… in three." Sinon panted as they ran.

Suddenly Chiba grabbed Sinon's hand and pulled her to the right. He had spotted what looked like motorcycles. Slapping his hand on the circle to pay for it, he jumped on, pulling her on behind him.

"What? These are impossible to drive!" Sinon yelled.


	8. motorcycles

**This is a fanfiction... yes, yes, I know, huge surprise... but I do not own any of these characters or the settings, they belong to the creators of Assassination Classroom and Sword Art Online. They are the real geniuses, I'm here as a poor shadow...imitator. Credit to RedOmega for letting me use their idea.**

 **By the way...  
** _Thoughts_  
" _Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind."  
_ "Normal talking"  
 **CLASS REACTION!**

 *****ψψψ*****

 **-Flashback-**

It had been a Saturday, and Chiba had left the house to get groceries. He was living alone, due to his older sister being in the military, and his two younger sisters studying abroad in England with his parents. He had chosen to stay in Japan, and his parents had sent money for living expenses every month.

He was passing a motorcycle shop when he saw a familiar figure.

… _Korosensei?_

He took out his knife and crept up to his alien teacher. Then he stabbed… or, well, tried to stab him

"Gyah! C-Chiba-kun! Don't scare me like that!" Korosensei said flickered, completely avoiding the knife.

Chiba just looked at him, his question clear.

"Just looking at some motorcycles…"

Suddenly another knife appeared.

"T-Terasaka!"

"Ugh, missed again. Hey octopus, what're you doing here?"

"W-well... in movies, the girl always falls in love with a bad boy using a motorcycle."

Chiba and Terasaka sweatdropped.

"A-anyway, I know! Why don't you two learn how to drive a motorcycle?" Korosensei quickly changed the subject.

"... What?"

"Driving is also part of education-"

 **WE'RE STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL!**

"-Also, I have a Norton motorcycle that I obtained as a souvenir when I was being attacked by an assassin from the US. We can use that to teach you. Nyuruhuhuhu…"

Terasaka grinned.

"Nice way of changing the subject..."

They both ended up coming to lessons once a week.

 **-End of Flashback-**

Chiba patted the terrified girl's shoulder in reassurance… and revved the engines. They shot off.

Chiba weaved in between the cars and trucks and twice the "speed limit" of the game. He spared a glance back at Sinon. To his surprise, she whooped, laughing.

It was surprisingly nice. Though the streets were just as dusty as the rest of the world, the ride was exhilarating. This was the fastest he'd ever gone on a motorcycle, due to the speed limit in the real world. Sinon leaned back, letting go of the death grip she'd had around his chest when they'd started. She threw her hands up into the air, still laughing. For a moment it felt like just the two of them, suspended in space and closed off from all time.

He sped up a bit, the wind whipping through his hair and occasionally revealing his reddish-brown eyes. Grinning, he expertly maneuvered the vehicle around various slower moving obstacles.

" _Chiba! Turn right here!"_

He made a sharp right turn and slowed down drastically, stopping in front of the governor's office.

"It's 15:52!" Sinon checked her watch, still slightly breathless from the ride. She turned to Chiba, eyes shining. "We can make it!"

She hugged him ecstatically then grabbed his hand and bolted to the building.

The building was huge. Dry and dusty like the the rest of the world, but also imposing. To Chiba, it almost felt like the main campus of Kunugigaoka, and he shivered. He didn't have good memories of that place.

Sinon dragged Chiba through the fifteen feet high double doors to the registration booths. The inside of the building was futuristic, and the color scheme was dark with hexagons everywhere.

Ritsu suddenly spoke up. "I bet you anything, Death Gun's registered… "

"You can enter the tournament here. It's a normal touch panel terminal. Do you know how to use it?" Sinon asked.

Chiba nodded.  
"I'll be right next to you, so if you need any help, ask me."  
Chiba took a look at the terminal.

***ψψψ***

Bullet of Bullets 3

Qualifier Entry

***ψψψ***

He touched the "ENTRY" panel.

***ψψψ***

User Information:

Name:

Address:

Phone Number:

-ΞΞΞ-

Attention:

Please input your real name and address.

You may leave this blank or enter false

information, but you will be ineligible

for top-ranking prizes. 

***ψψψ***

Chiba didn't particularly want to put in his private information, but, well, the guard had promised to stay near the house, and Ritsu had assured him that the player killer wasn't able to actually cause him physical harm while he was in the game. She had actually run through three hundred and fifty two scenarios, and had been pleased to announce, with 100% certainty, that murders were happening in real life and not using the headsets or and or the VR equipment. She also said there was 0.3% chance that it was just a coincidence.

So, Chiba filled the information out.

***ψψψ***

Username: SogekiKyokan

Gender: Male

Name: Chiba Ryunosuke

Address: *********

Phone number: ***-***-****

***ψψψ***

After he typed his information into the blanks and touched the "Y" panel, Chiba turned to look at Sinon.

"Are you finished?" she asked.

Chiba nodded. "Thank you."

"It's fine. It was fun, riding in the motorcycle. Anyway, which qualifier block did you get?"

She leaned over and checked the terminal. "Oh look, I'm in Block F, same as you. Maybe because we signed up together." She looked at her registration terminal. "But I'm in 12, which means even if I run into you, it'll be in the finals."

Chiba made a questioning sound in the back of his throat.  
"As long as you make it to the final battle of the qualifiers, you can participate in the battle royale at the main tournament." Sinon explained. "So it's possible we could both get to the main tournament."

Chiba half-smiled.

"But, if I do see you in the finals, even if it's a qualifier... I won't go easy on you." She said seriously.

"Of course," Chiba replied in his quiet tone.

Korosensei always told us that we need to do our best in everything, and I intend to give this tournament my all, even if I have an ulterior motive.


	9. introductions and a promise

**This is a fanfiction... yes, yes, I know, huge surprise... but I do not own any of these characters or the settings, they belong to the creators of Assassination Classroom and Sword Art Online. They are the real geniuses, I'm here as a poor shadow...imitator. Credit to RedOmega for letting me use their idea.**

 **By the way...  
** _Thoughts_  
" _Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind."  
_ "Normal talking"  
 **CLASS REACTION!**

 *****ψψψ*****

Sorry about the late update.

 *****ψψψ*****

(In Japanese)

Entry for the Bullet of Bullets 3

Qualifying Tournament

is now closed.

"The Japanese is good..." he commented "The official site was in English."

"The company that operates it, Zaskar, is American, but Japanese staff is assigned to the server for Japan." Sinon looked thoughtful. "But you know, GGO is in kind of a legal gray zone, in both Japan and America."

"The real money-conversion system?"

"The official page has only minimal information. You can only manage your character, access the e-money accounts you need for currency conversion. Most of the game-related functions are inside the game itself."

Ritsu cut in. " _Since VR headsets are still relatively new, and because of the SAO incident, the laws regulating virtual reality are mainly focused on safety and leave games like GGO to skirt on the borders of the law."_

"It's almost entirely cut off from the real world. Because of that, it feels like the real me and the me that exists here are two different people."

Sinon was staring, her eyes turned inwards.

"It's nothing, sorry," she said, noticing Chiba was quietly waiting for her. "We need to get to the tournament-qualifier area. Are you ready?"

He nodded.  
They entered the floor of the competition. Most of the decour was in black or dark blue, and there was minimal lighting. The competitors looked slightly intimidating, most of them having huge muscular builds.

"Let's go to the waiting room. You need to equip the combat suit you bought," she said.

 **Remaining Time: 21 Minutes**

They began to walk towards the waiting rooms. On their way, Chiba observed people showing off their guns.

" _Well, they've lost the element of surprise."_ Ritsu was disparaging.  
"Find an empty room and change, I'll meet you here when you're done," she said as they walked down the hallway.

Chiba quickly changed into his combat suit. A dark grey coat reaching to his fingertips, which seemed to blend into the shadows, and slightly lighter cargo pants. He changed his boots, slipped on gloves and strapped on his belt… or well, he tapped the buttons that did what was just mentioned. He placed the handgun on his belt and the Amnesty International AWM on his back. Stepping out of the room, he slipped quickly to the aforementioned rendezvous.

Three minutes later, Sinon emerged wearing a silver and black combat suit with a green jacket.

***ψψψ***

The two moved to an empty table in an area without as many competitors. Chiba looked at the time.

 **Remaining Time: 10 Minutes**

"I'll explain the bare minimum as we don't have much time." Sinon spoke, following Chiba's gaze.

Chiba thanked her. He was grateful that she was helping him, but wondered why.

"Once that countdown hits 0, all the entrants here will be automatically transferred to a battlefield containing them and their first-round opponent."

He nodded shifting slightly into a more comfortable position.

"The field is a one-kilometer square region. The terrain, weather, and time are random. You'll start a minimum of five hundred meters apart, and once the match ends, the winner is sent back here. The loser is sent to the first-floor hall. In Block F, there are sixty-four people. So five victories takes you to the finals, and gives you the right to enter the main tournament."

"I think I've got it. Thanks."

Ritsu sulked a bit. " _I could have told you that too…"_

Sinon briefly looked at Chiba "You'd better make to the finals. I've taught you so much, and you definitely have the skill to get there."

There was a moment of silence.

"I'll look forward to the that." Chiba said. "But what about you?"  
"If I wash out in the qualifiers, I'm retiring. This time..." She took a small breath. "This time, I will kill all the strong ones." A slightly sadistic smile, much like Karma's graced her features.

Chiba smiled back.

" _She'd fit well in our classroom."_

Chiba mentally agreed.

"This might be the last time we talk like this, so I'll give you my name." She showed her player information to Chiba.  
ততত  
Sinon

Female  
ততত  
"Sinon." he repeated.

" _Hypocrite."_ said Ritsu, teasing him. " _You already knew that."_

"Here's mine."

ততত

SogekiKyokan

Male  
ততত  
Someone suddenly approached their table

"Hey. You're late, Sinon. I was worried you wouldn't make it."

He had a tall skinny body with long, silver hair tied back into a ponytail.

"Hi, Spiegel. I got caught up in something unexpected," Sinon said. "Didn't you say you weren't going to enter?" She scooted over to the side and Spiegel took a seat.

"I thought it might be a pain, but I came to cheer you on. You can watch the match on a big screen here." Spiegel answered "By the way, what did you mean by 'something unexpected'?"

"I was showing him the way here." Sinon answered, looking at Ryunosuke.

Chiba nodded at him.

"His username is SogekiKyokan."

"Nice to meet you, my username's Spiegel." The player introduced himself with a curious looked directed toward him. "Are you a beginner?"

"Yes." Chiba was quietly observing him. He didn't have on that much armor and moved smoothly. If he were to guess, China would have said he had high agility and lower strength.

"I see. Good luck by the way." Spiegel said.

A synthesized voice was heard.  
"The Bullet of Bullets 3 Qualifying Tournament will now begin. After the countdown, all players who have entered the tournament will be automatically transported to the first-round field map. Good Luck."

The competitors went wild. Ritsu groaned in Chiba's ear.

" _And WHAT is the point of shooting your guns exactly?"_ she questioned.

A moment later… " _Duck!"_ she shouted. Chiba dropped as several bullets streaked towards him.

Ritsu laughed. " _This is a protected zone, they won't harm you."_

Chiba still looked wary.

"Go for it, Sinon!" Spiegel cheered.

"Thanks." Sinon stood up and pointed at Chiba. "Get to the finals! I'll kick your ass there!"

Chiba grinned, stood up and saluted. He briefly looked at Spiegel before he left. To is surprise, the boy was looking straight back at him, scrutinizing him with an unreadable expression on his face. There was something about him…

His surroundings disappeared, and he appeared in a totally black landscape with the pattern of hexagons and the words:

ততত

SogekiKyokan vs Uemaru

Remaining Time: 56 Seconds

Field: Lost Ancient Temple

ততত

He checked his equipment, skimming over the menu to make sure he'd equipped everything.

Chiba though quickly. _The field is only one mile, and speed is important. I need to hit the ground running and find cover to wait for the target. Stealth is important and I need to find the target as quickly as possible, to minimize the chance that he finds me. I also need to find high ground to scout out the field._

The countdown hit 0.


	10. the first round and a revelation

**This is a fanfiction... yes, yes, I know, huge surprise... but I do not own any of these characters or the settings, they belong to the creators of Assassination Classroom and Sword Art Online. They are the real geniuses, I'm here as a poor shadow...imitator. Credit to RedOmega for letting me use their idea.**

 **By the way...  
** _Thoughts_  
" _Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind."  
_ "Normal talking"  
 **CLASS REACTION!**

ততত

 **I am so sorry about the late update- the wifi was down and the computer crashed... sorry again.**

 **Anyways, here's the story: enjoy!**

ততত

 **-START-**

Chiba was teleported to the field. The sun was setting on the manufactured landscape. There were a broken down pillars providing cover and everything was bathed in a warm glow. The forest had grown and integrated itself between the stones that had once made up the building.

High ground. The field was pretty level, so his best bet would probably be a tree. As soon as the terrain had materialized around him, Chiba had begun to move, the longer he stayed in one place, the higher the chances that he'd be discovered.

He sprinted behind a pillar, rolled to another piece of broken wall, and reached a thicker part of the forest. He swung himself up a tree and straddled the branch readying his gun as he looked around.

The setting sun meant long shadows, and Chiba was almost indistinguishable from his surroundings. He stayed where he was for a minute, looking around before moving to another vantage point by switching trees. He repeated this several times. On his fourth time he got lucky.

Surveying the ground, he caught a flash of light reflecting off of metal.

" _There he is."_ Ritsu whispered softly.

Chiba grinned.

The man was lying on the ground, the tall grass obscuring him from view. His gun, a rapid-fire type, was set up in front of him. He was wearing brown and sandy green camouflage. He was about 640 yards away, but a tree was blocking Chiba's view.

He needed a clearer sightline, after all if he shot and missed the target would be alerted. He used the wind to mask the noise as he jumped off the branch to grab another on a different tree. Then he climbed around quickly and took the gun off his shoulder.

" _Remember that as soon as you start aiming, there'll be a red predictive line."_

Chiba acknowledged the comment with a nod. He would have barely enough time to aim then, maybe a second or two, to make sure the target wasn't expecting it. He breathed deeply settling his heartbeat in preparation for the shot.

" _What's his strategy anyhow?"_ Ritsu grumbled. " _Wait for the target to stumble into view? And if he took enough time to buy a camouflage suit, then he should have also disguised his gun, the metal will give him away every time!"_

Chiba moved suddenly. In a fluid motion he brought his gun down to aim at the target's head, and a millisecond after, fired.

There was a small pop as the silencer took effect and muffled the sound of the firing gun.

As small as the sound was, the target noticed and began to turn...

When Uemaru turned his head, noticing the red line, the bullet hit him right between the eyes.

As he faded, he looked shocked.

"I never saw him coming!" he muttered.

 **-CONGRATULATIONS!-**

 **-SOGEKIKYOKAN WINS!-**

Chiba was teleported back to the floor of the competition. He started to wander back to the table they were at, but he couldn't see Sinon. Spiegel was still at the place he was at before, but Chiba really didn't feel comfortable around him.

Ritsu sensed his discomfort. " _You might as well scout out the players, maybe you can narrow down the choices for Death Gun."_

Chiba followed Ritsu's advice and began to wander around. The screens were still showing the competitors, and most of the players were focused on the screens. It was then that Chiba realized that he had been the first to finish… and he was trying to remain unnoticed. The people who weren't staring at the screen were staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably.

" _The price of being trained by the best."_ Ritsu's tone was smug.

"How are we supposed to observe them if they're staring at us?"

" _Just stare back."_

Chiba scowled but took her advice. Most of those staring became uncomfortable when the player began to glare back at them. It was ridiculous, they couldn't even see his eyes, but they were getting an uneasy feeling anyhow.

Only a few characters remained looking at him.

And of those few, one began to walk towards him.

"So you're the beginner who beat Uemaru."

A deep hoarse voice with a metallic tang.

Chiba gasped as he felt bloodlust slam into him. It was worse than Nagisa's. At least in Nagisa's case, it had never been directed at him. He felt an irrational urge to run, to hide, like prey before predator. He stumbled back a bit.

The player simply glanced at his bowed figure, as if he was beneath his interest.

"Let's see how the little rabbit runs when faced with a wolf."

Chiba saw black spots, and when they cleared, the player was gone. He stumbled over to a nearby couch and took several deep breaths.

" _It's a match!"_

Chiba's head snapped up.

"What?"

" _Listen to this."_ Ritsu's excitement was almost palpable.

" _This is real power, real strength! Foolish people, engrave the fear of these names in your hearts!"_

" _Let's see how the little rabbit runs when faced with a wolf."_

It was the same voice, the voice of the player who had just confronted him.

" _This gun's name and mine: Death Pistol... Death Gun!"_

Chiba froze.

" _We found him!"_ Ritsu crowed. " _We found Death Gun!"_

His brain wasn't working. Whirring uselessly, unable to connect to make the gears turn.

They had found him.

ততত

That was how Sinon ran across him when she had beaten her opponent.

"You look awful," she said bluntly. "If this is your reaction after every match, you'll never make it to finals. Get ahold of yourself."

Chiba didn't bother telling her that it hadn't been the match that had messed him up. He didn't bother telling her that seeing the player killer had brought back all the feelings of inadequacy and fear he had felt at the island. He just retreated deeper into himself.

Sinon looked into his blank eyes. Somehow, she knew that it hadn't been the match that had screwed him up, that it went deeper than that.

She punched him lightly on the shoulder. To her surprise, he caught her fist almost reflexively. But he didn't let it go. He drew it closer, clutching it as if it were a lifeline, as if he were drowning. Sinon, surprised, let him, instead of snatching her hand back.

If this had happened in the real world, Sinon would have felt awkward, but in that virtual reality she just sat next to him, giving as much comfort as she could.

When Spiegel glanced back at them, his eyes narrowed and a myriad of emotions ran through his face.

They remained like that, holding hands till they both vanished to their respective matches.

ততত

During the minute of preparation he was given, Ritsu began to chide him.

"Get a hold of yourself. You can't afford to lose now. Remember this is just a game: you're a professional assassin, you've faced more dangerous opponents."

Chiba took a deep breath.

"You're right, sorry for spacing out."

"Now let's go and kill them all!"

Chiba smiled hesitantly. His feelings of inadequacy could wait till later, right now, he would focus on only one thing: the target.


	11. more rounds

**This is a fanfiction... yes, yes, I know, huge surprise... but I do not own any of these characters or the settings, they belong to the creators of Assassination Classroom and Sword Art Online. They are the real geniuses, I'm here as a poor shadow...imitator. Credit to RedOmega for letting me use their idea.**

 **By the way...  
** _Thoughts_  
" _Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind."  
_ "Normal talking"  
 **CLASS REACTION!**

ততত

As soon as he was teleported he dropped and began to crawl. He had landed in a futuristic setting, and the ruined skyscrapers provided countless spaces to hide.

He opponent had spotted a flash of color in his direction and started firing. The target had a machine gun and the bullets riddled the place Chiba been in a moment ago.

 _He's fast!_

Chiba ghosted in between shadows, drawing closer to the target without letting him see him. His opponent had made a fatal mistake to continue firing after the first few seconds. The prediction lines showed Chiba exactly where the man was without actually having to see him. He'd only have one shot, and it would need to quick, before the target realized Chiba wasn't where he was aiming. Chiba had moved to ten meters away from where he had appeared.

The calculations were almost second nature to him now, the exact angle his gun would need to be when he aimed over the fallen rubble.

In one movement he rose to his feet, his finger on the trigger.

In a millisecond, his finger squeezed three times. Three bullets streaked toward the target, almost traveling as fast as the prediction lines appeared. The first one missed, the second one hit the target's shoulder, and the last…

"Direct hit!" Chiba grinned.

...found the man right above his ear.

ততত

Again Chiba was the first one out.

He saw some of the others participating in elaborate gun battles, wandering around looking for their opponent, or lying in wait for their target.

" _Speed is important too. It doesn't matter how messy or inelegant the kill: once the target is dead, the target is dead. There is only one goal: the kill."_ Ritsu was back in lecture mode. It was in these times she sometimes regressed back into the cold unfeeling _thing_ they'd had as a classmate for exactly two days.

" _Oooo, but this is_ so _fun!"_ she squealed. " _It's so cool that we got to go on a secret private mission, isn't it Chiba-kun?"_

On the other hand, Ritsu's bubbly personality couldn't _ever_ be suppressed for long.

ততত

They wandered around for a bit, as they had before, but they didn't run into Death Gun again.

" _We should discuss strategies for the next matches- after all, they're just going to get harder. I was thinking, since you can control your movement to a much higher extent than in the real world, we could work on being able to move and shoot at the same time. After all, if we could calculate how high your arm and gun is when you duck, jump, or run, you could snap off a shot without worrying about the prediction lines."_

"That's a good idea, after all, most players need the bullet lines to dodge. How do you think we should deal with the machine gun players? The ones that don't fire off a single shot?"

" _I don't think there's a way to fight them head-on."_

"Same here. I'll try to avoid them altogether. If it were possible, it'd be nice to not be seen at all- do you think there's something like a cloaking device in the shop?"

" _There could be. We can't check now, but maybe later- when we get to the finals."_

"Okay, for now, I'll concentrate on just avoiding those types of players."

" _Good idea._ "

Chiba had sat down in a random booth as they started talking. He fiddled with his gun as they were talking. His voice was soft, barely making a sound and his eyes were fixated on the gun in his hand.

"Why do you think he's doing this? It's just a game."

" _Well, it does feel a lot like reality. And, at least to me, the digital world_ is _my reality: I only exist in this world. If someone tried to take that away, I'd want to get rid of them."_

Chiba thought for a moment. Ritsu had a point.

"Who am I to tell them that this isn't a reality? Perhaps it is. I've never thought about it from your viewpoint. I suppose if this was my reality, I'd want to protect it. But those murders weren't made in self-defense, those people can't take the AmuSphere away from him."

" _Whatever they thought, murder is still murder."_

"Yeah."

They both thought about the killer, wondering what had driven him to that point.

"Are we any better?"

" _What do you mean?"_

"I mean, we are trying to kill our teacher."

" _He did say he was going to blow up the world."_

Chiba sighed. "Sometimes I don't understand Korosensei. He's a great teacher, but, honestly, why teach a bunch of misfits if you're just going to blow up the world?"

Ritsu was silent, having no answer.

That was the real question wasn't it?

Who _was_ their teacher?


	12. and still more rounds

**A/N:** I am so sorry about the more-than-a-year delay in posting. My muse had completely disappeared, and even now, I'm not sure it's back.

I've been rather busy with real life, but hopefully I'll be able to work on this a bit more, and _hopefully,_ this won't end up being abandoned for a year again. This update's a bit short, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm still getting into the swing of things.

* * *

 _Thoughts_

 _"Ritsu, when speaking into Chiba's mind."_

"Normal talking"

 **CLASS REACTION!**

* * *

The next three rounds were fairly easy. The third round was against a gunman who was neither a sniper nor a machine gun user. He used two revolvers, almost like Hayami in his style of movement. He ran from cover to cover, but since he never figured out where Chiba was, he was dealt with rather quickly. Chiba got him as he was moving in between covers- he had shot him as he twisted around his cover. The prediction line had given the gunman a millisecond of warning, no time to do anything but think horrified (the bullet was too fast for him to look horrified).

The fourth duel was much the same as the first one- his opponent was a sniper- easy to pick off once he was spotted.

The fifth duel was a bit harder. His opponent had had a huge machine gun. Clearly, he was mental: as soon as the round started he started shooting up the place.

Chiba gritted his teeth as he rolled behind a stone.

He'd been clipped in the shoulder by one of the bullets in the initial barrage and had to switch to his left hand. It was a good thing Karasuma had drilled them on shooting with both hands, otherwise he would have been screwed.

"I really hate these kinds of players. They have no style. You can do it Chiba!"

That isn't to say they aren't effective though.

Chiba crawled forward and whipped behind a fallen support beam. He knew where the gunman was, but good luck trying to get anywhere near him.

"Do you think he'll run out of bullets anytime soon?"

He doubted it.

He's probably slower than me.

But how could he use that to his advantage?

Wait… I don't need to be anywhere near him.

I just need high ground.

Chiba crawled backwards, and, once he had taken cover behind a wall, sprinted off to a broken skyscraper.

He climbed to the top sprinting, pushing his avatar as fast as it could go.

When he reached the roof, he could just barely see the target coming closer to where he was, all the while shooting up the place.

He held his gun to the side and mentally measured the angle and distance and how fast the target was walking…

and whipped out his gun...

put his finger on the trigger…

hesitated a second, because he wasn't shooting with his dominant hand…

the target seemed to stiffen…

and shot.

"Direct hit!"


	13. zemblanity

_zemblanity_

* * *

People watching was becoming rather boring, but at the same time made Chiba jittery, fearful as he was of meeting Death Gun. He sat still, slouched a bit on the couch, giving off the impression of ignoring the rest of the world and appearing forgettable (another one of Korosensei's lessons). A heavy knot of something sat heavy in his chest, making it hard to breath.

Then he thought of the government and the fact that they were relying on him, and slumped a bit more.

" _Hey!"_

He ignored the bubbly voice in his ear.

" _Hey, don't get down! You can do this! The government chose you for a reason."_

"Yeah, because they literally had no one else," he muttered.

Ritsu ignored the comment. "They trust you, and they'll pull you out it you're ever in danger."

Chiba sighed. Rationally he knew that, but it did little to stop the fear coiling in his gut. Ritsu hummed and sent flashes of comforting thought his way. He tensed as he waited for his next match.

*I*I*

Sinon smiled as her saw her opponent for the final match.

 _Time to see what you're made of._

*I*I*

SogekiKyokan vs Sinon

Remaining Time: Two minutes

Field: Island Ambush

*I*I*

Chiba froze as he saw the field name.

 _It can't be. How does this sort of coincidence even happen in real life?!_

" _Chiba, focus."_

 _I–I don't understand._

" _Chiba! If you don't get your heartrate down, you won't be able to shoot!"_

Won't be able to shoot. The words resonated inside Chiba's head. _Won't be able to shoot_.

 _Result: Failure, the target got away._

 _How can you kill an unkillable monster? How can one class stop the destruction of the world? It's impossible!_

 _How is it that we tried our absolute best and still came nowhere close to hitting him?_

" _CHIBA!"_

 _How?_

 _How?_

 _HOW?_

" _CHIBA, WAKE UP!"_

He opened his eyes. He was in the field already and had wasted precious time on thinking, on _self pity_. A bullet zoomed two centimeters away from his face, and he started.

" _You're in a round, get a hold of yourself!"_

"SOGEKI!"

Chiba jerked up.

"Fight me seriously! You promised, and you _can't_ space out now!"

And suddenly, the location didn't matter anymore. It didn't matter that the whole affair was on an island almost identical to the one he was currently on, it didn't matter that he had doubts about his task at school, and it didn't matter that he'd failed before.

Right now, the only thing that _should have_ mattered was the match and Sinon.

"You're right! I'm sorry for zoning out. Let's have a good round."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he threw a smoke grenade, covering a radius of 150 meters, and then ducked and rolled into the cover of a few bushes and began to plan. He continued moving, getting further and further away from Sinon

The waiting game began.

 _Sinon is also a sniper—so she'll likely use the same tactics that I will. She's more likely to aim for higher ground to survey the island. That would be the best course of action right now._

 _So to find her, I have to concentrate on the elevated parts of the island and figure out how to approach it from a spot that makes it almost impossible for me to be seen._

Chiba skirted around the island staying under tree cover and moving quickly.

 _I won't have any time to set up distractions, so it'll be a matter of who shoots first…_

He reached the cliffs and began to climb. It was slower than running, but the most direct, out of sight, and inaccessible way to reach the top of the hill.

It would take a bit of time, but he would be almost invisible during the duration of the climb….

When he reached the top, he glanced around, but didn't see anyone—

A flash of electric blue, and Chiba turned as she turned, and the exact moment that they realized that the other was there began their move towards their weapons, and both Chiba and Sinon drew their handguns—

And shot.

* * *

 **A/N** : I'm going to be editing the previous chapters for the next few weeks, so please stand by as I regain my muse...


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